Sunday, June 13, 2004

Dang, the Euroweenies are ahead of us!

Irish Vote to Close Citizenship 'Loophole':
The Irish voted "yes" in a referendum on citizenship, final results showed on Sunday, giving the government a green light to crack down on immigrants it says exploit the law to get into the European Union.

Dublin says non-EU nationals come to give birth in Ireland so they can then claim residency as parents of children who automatically become Irish citizens.

In a decision sure to anger campaigners for immigrants' rights, nearly 80 percent of voters in Friday's referendum backed a government proposal to amend the rules on citizenship in the constitution.
...
The government said the number of non-nationals born in Irish hospitals has increased nearly six-fold since 1998 and now accounts for 29 percent of total hospital births.

According to one major Dublin maternity clinic, well over 80 percent of women who turned up late or unbooked to gave birth last year were foreigners.
...
The result means Ireland, the last country in the EU to offer citizenship automatically to all children born on its soil, is almost certain to withdraw that right later this year.
Meanwhile in the US, the usual suspects are whining about deporting teenage illegal aliens and are trying to exempt illegal alien high school students from English language requirements.